Detachment

Enjoy nice things, but don't need them.

When running warm ups at the dojo I often have students perform an exercise called lunge and lift. The idea is you step forward and perform a deep knee lunge lightly placing your knee on the mat and then while rising up you lift the rear leg up stretching the entire leg, keeping it straight and pulling your toes back. The goal is to have the student strengthen and stretch their legs while simultaneously improving their balance and ability to detach their upper body from their lower half. The typical student struggles to detach and ends up contorting and hunching awkwardly as they rise and fall with the lunges. Being able to keep the upper body "detached" and still is a valuable skill when trying not to telegraph a kick for example. Like a new student to the martial arts, most of us struggle early on in our lives with coordination and learning to detach.

"Detachment is not giving up the things in this world, but accepting the fact and to be continuously aware that nothing is permanent." -Aditya Ajmera

On a deeper spiritual level we can all use some Frozen inspired Princess Elsa wisdom on letting go, but for this article I would like to simply recommend that we learn to Love People and Use things, and never the other way around.

3 Levels of Detachment

The first level of detachment is letting go of the objects that overwhelm and distract us. Think of all the things people stash in their garage or closets that never see the light of day. What if you uncluttered your entire living space so that only truly useful items were organized in your environment. This is the goal of the minimalist who learns to detach from "stuff" that do not serve them in their pursuit of happiness. See if you can identify 10 things right now that you could sell or donate in an effort to clear the clutter.

The second level of detachment is to let go of relationships that are a drain and ultimately steal your creativity and strength, preventing you from unleashing your potential on this planet. What are 3 relationships that if limited would free up time and energy to cultivate healthier ones. Detaching from energy vampires that suck your enthusiasm is critical to self actualization.

The third and final level of detachment is to detach yourself internally from negative thoughts and worries. When you focus on the negative you are borrowing trouble and freely giving up your potential today by fretting over the unknowns of tomorrow.

"He suffers more than necessary, who suffers before it is necessary." -Seneca

Do not allow your future growth, potential and ultimate happiness to be drained by things, people or thoughts. Decide now to detach from the weight and swim freely to the shores of your dreams!